The Carmelite Priory, Helsingør, or Priory of Our Lady, Helsingør (), was a house of

Carmelite The Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel (; abbreviated OCarm), known as the Carmelites or sometimes by synecdoche known simply as Carmel, is a mendicant order in the Catholic Church for both men and women. Histo ...

friars in

Helsingør Helsingør ( , ; ), classically known in English as Elsinore ( ), is a coastal city in northeastern Denmark. Helsingør Municipality had a population of 63,953 on 1 January 2025, making it the 23rd most populated municipality in Denmark. Helsin ...

Zealand Zealand ( ) is the largest and most populous islands of Denmark, island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size) at 7,031 km2 (2715 sq. mi.). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 Januar ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

, established in 1430. It is the finest example of a complete monastic complex surviving in Denmark, and one of the best in all of Scandinavia.

History

Carmelites

The Priory of Our Lady was established in 1430 for a group of Carmelite friars from

Landskrona Landskrona is a town in Scania, Sweden. Located on the shores of the Öresund, it occupies a natural port, which has lent the town at first military and subsequent commercial significance. Ferries operate from Landskrona to the island of Ven, an ...

. It was one of three religious houses founded in Helsingør by King Erik VII as it grew from a small fishing village to a trading port on

Øresund Øresund or Öresund (, ; ; ), commonly known in English as the Sound, is a strait which forms the Denmark–Sweden border, Danish–Swedish border, separating Zealand (Denmark) from Scania (Sweden). The strait has a length of ; its width var ...

, the strait which separates Zealand from

Skåne Scania ( ), also known by its native name of Skåne (), is the southernmost of the historical provinces of Sweden, provinces () of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conterminous w ...

(now in southern

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

), an important fishing ground and busy shipping corridor between the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

and the

Baltic Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages *Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian *Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originatin ...

. Erik VII, the heir of

Margaret I Margaret I may refer to: * Margaret I, Countess of Flanders (died 1194) * Margaret I of Scotland (1283–1290), usually known as the Maid of Norway * Margaret I, Countess of Holland (1311–1356), Countess of Hainaut and Countess of Holland * Ma ...

, needed funds and his new toll on shipping was a source of steady income. He wanted to impress outsiders and set about purposefully to develop Helsingør as a gateway city. One of the things he did was to establish in the town not only the priory for the Carmelites but also a

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

friary and a Dominican priory. The Carmelites were a

mendicant A mendicant (from , "begging") is one who practices mendicancy, relying chiefly or exclusively on alms to survive. In principle, Mendicant orders, mendicant religious orders own little property, either individually or collectively, and in many i ...

order () which means that at least in the beginning they depended on the generosity of local residents for their sustenance. They were sometimes called the "little white friars". King Erik invited them into Denmark and established the priory of Our Lady in Helsingør to ensure that they remained. As time passed the priory received many properties scattered all over Zealand which decreased their dependence on others. The priory in Helsingør eventually became the headquarters for the Carmelites in Scandinavia. Its property was a gift from King Erik, and included several farms for its maintenance. The buildings were of red brick, the most common building material of the day in the region. The three main buildings were built around a central garden and

cloister A cloister (from Latin , "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open Arcade (architecture), arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle (architecture), quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cat ...

, with the church of St. Mary forming the fourth side to the south. The church was built as a three-aisled

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...

, but the central

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

was built significantly higher than the others in the Gothic style. The oldest buildings were destroyed by a fire in 1450, resulting in its current appearance which dates to 1500, when the building of the church was completed. In 1516 a

hospital A hospital is a healthcare institution providing patient treatment with specialized Medical Science, health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically ...

was created here for foreign sailors. The most influential Carmelite from the priory in Helsingør was Poul Helgesen, who was a university lecturer and student of

Erasmus Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus ( ; ; 28 October c. 1466 – 12 July 1536), commonly known in English as Erasmus of Rotterdam or simply Erasmus, was a Dutch Christian humanist, Catholic priest and Catholic theology, theologian, educationalist ...

. He was an early proponent of

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

reforms in Denmark, but later became disenchanted with Lutheranism as well, earning him the hatred of both religious communities. He wrote a chronicle of his turbulent time, but it was never published. A manuscript was discovered inside the walls of

Skibby Skibby is a town with a population of 3,135 (1 January 2025),Skibby Chronicle''.

Dissolution and after

After the dissolution of the priory in 1536 during the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

, the Carmelites were turned out, and the premises were abandoned until 1541 when

Christian III Christian III (12 August 1503 – 1 January 1559) reigned as King of Denmark from 1534 and King of Norway from 1537 until his death in 1559. During his reign, Christian formed close ties between the church and the crown. He established ...

re-endowed it as the hospital of Helsingør ( or ), with enough income-producing properties to sustain it. It was continued in intermittent use as a hospital for the sick, the elderly, and the poor until 1916, when new premises were made available elsewhere. Also in 1541 a

grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a Latin school, school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented Se ...

was established in the west wing, which continued until 1807. From 1930 a small number of single women lived in the buildings as an

almshouse An almshouse (also known as a bede-house, poorhouse, or hospital) is charitable housing provided to people in a particular community, especially during the Middle Ages. They were often built for the poor of a locality, for those who had held ce ...

, the last of whom left in 1986. In 1989 the local church and episcopal authorities took over the buildings and still occupy part of them. In 1992 restoration work was carried out on the frescoes in the former conventual buildings. File:Karmeliterklostret Helsingoer.jpg, Conventual range File:Sankt Mariae Helsingoer-Klostergangen.jpg, Cloister File:Sankt Mariae Helsingoer- Klostergården.jpg, Cloister garth

St. Mary's Church

The first intention after the dissolution of the priory was to demolish the church, but it found use as a warehouse and as stabling for horses, which preserved it until 1577, when it was made available to the foreign community residing in Helsingør, mostly Germans from the cities of the

Hanseatic League The Hanseatic League was a Middle Ages, medieval commercial and defensive network of merchant guilds and market towns in Central Europe, Central and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Growing from a few Northern Germany, North German towns in the ...

. It remained the "German" church until 1851, although from 1740 it was also the church for the garrison at

Kronborg Castle Kronborg is a castle and historical stronghold in the town of Helsingør, Denmark. Immortalised as Elsinore in William Shakespeare's play ''Hamlet'', Kronborg is one of the most important Renaissance castles in Northern Europe. It was inscribed ...

. It became Helsingør's second parish church in 1819 when St. Olai's parish split into two, although sermons in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

were delivered here, between Danish services, until 1851. A large number of German inscriptions remain to testify to the church's Hanseatic past. Between 1900 and 1907 the church and the conventual buildings were entirely restored under Professor H. B. Storck, with particular attention to the restoration and conservation of the impressive frescoes on the walls and ceilings. St. Mary's is home to a magnificent

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

organ built between 1634 and 1636 by Johan Lorentz. One of the organists was the famed composer

Dietrich Buxtehude Dieterich Buxtehude (; born Diderich Hansen Buxtehude, ; – 9 May 1707) was a Danish composer and organist of the Baroque period, whose works are typical of the North German organ school. As a composer who worked in various vocal and instrumen ...

. It was thoroughly renovated from 1997 on by

Marcussen & Søn Marcussen & Søn, also known as Marcussen and previously as Marcussen & Reuter, is a Denmark, Danish firm of pipe organ builders. They were one of the first firms to go back to classical organ-building techniques, and have been producing tracker ...

. File:Interior of Sankt Mariæ Kirke in September 2015.jpg, Interior File:Sankt Mariae Helsingoer- Kalkmalerier.jpg, Frescoes File:Sankt Mariae Helsingoer- Midterskibet.jpg, Nave File:Sankt Mariae Helsingoer- Prædikestol.jpg, Pulpit File:Sankt Mariae Helsingoer- Orglet.jpg, Organ

Sources

Helsingørdomkirke.dk: Sanct Olai Kirke and Sanct Mariæ Kloster

Helsingorleksikon.dk: Sct. Mariae Kirke

References

* Henningsen, Henning, 1995: ''Sct. Mariæ Kirke og Vor Frue Kloster i Helsingør''. Sct. Mariæ Sogns Menighedsråd {{DEFAULTSORT:Carmelite Priory, Helsingor Religious buildings and structures in Helsingør Municipality Carmelite monasteries in Denmark Defunct hospitals in Denmark Hospitals established in the 15th century 1430 establishments in Europe Listed buildings and structures in Helsingør Municipality Churches in Helsingør Municipality 1430s establishments in Denmark Monasteries dissolved under the Danish Reformation